In a foregone conclusion, Nadia Verrelli was officially named the federal NDP candidate for Sudbury during a nomination meeting at the Quality Inn on Saturday.
Verrelli, a Law and Justice professor at Laurentian University, last sought public office during the 2021 federal election, when she placed second behind Liberal Viviane Lapointe.
She was reinstated as Sudbury’s NDP candidate on Saturday without any challengers, during a nomination meeting at which numerous signs were on display advertising Verrelli’s name.
Verrelli said she’ll bring a similar approach to her next campaign as she did in 2021.
“It's to get out there, listen to the people, have them have their say and let them know what we’re going to do to help them and represent them,” she told Sudbury.com during a break from Saturday’s meeting, after she was verified.
In her speech, media release and a video message from NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh, a key centrepiece was opposing the Conservative Party of Canada, and Leader Pierre Poilievre in particular.
Liberals have also been narrowing in on Poilievre in recent days. The Conservatives currently hold a strong enough lead in the polls to put them on track to secure a majority government in the next election.
“We’re in a really important fight. People feel let down by the Liberals, they’re not going to give them another chance,” Singh said in his video statement for Saturday’s meeting, criticizing Poilievre as part of “team cut … to give to his wealthy CEO buddies, where New Democrats want to make life more affordable.”
During her remarks, Verrelli lambasted Poilievre as someone rife with “anger, slogans and lies.”
“The only people he listens to are the right-wing ideologues and the big polluters, and then he lies about it,” she said. “The NDP is the only party with the courage, the vision and the heart to take down Poilievre and his Conservatives and win.”
Following her speech, Verrelli told Sudbury.com that the NDP brings a more progressive platform than the Liberals, and that she is “the progressive choice for Sudbury.”
“We’ll get things done. We’re here representing. We’re not just here to show up for a photo op, we’re here to listen to people and bring change,” she said. “I’ll bring Sudbury’s voice to Ottawa, loud and clear.”
Judging from the 2021 federal election results in Sudbury, the next election is far from secure for any political party.
The 2021 bid was a tight one, with the Liberal, NDP and Conservative candidates finishing within a few-thousand votes of one another.
Verrelli landed a second-place finish with 13,569 votes (29.5 per cent of votes cast) to Liberal Viviane Lapointe’s 15,871 (34.5 per cent), while Conservative Ian Symington trailed close behind with 12,747 votes (27.2 per cent).
With Verrelli officially on board as of Saturday, it’ll be the same three-way race among frontrunners whenever the next federal election is called. Symington was reaffirmed in April and Lapointe has been reaffirmed as the Liberal candidate.
Verrelli’s 2021 polling results were similar to prior NDP candidate Beth Mairs’ 13,885-vote (28.9 per cent) second-place finish in 2019. In 2019, Liberal Paul Lefebvre secured the win with 19,643 votes (40.9 per cent).
Between 2019 and 2021, Conservatives received the greatest change in the percentage of voter support in Sudbury, growing from 20.6 per cent of the vote to 27.2 per cent.
Tyler Clarke covers city hall and political affairs for Sudbury.com.